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Detroit Lions have longest playoff drought after Cincinnati Bengals top Las Vegas Raiders

dave birkett, detroit free press
·1 min read

Let’s go streaking (but not the good kind).

The Detroit Lions now own the longest streak in the NFL without a playoff win.

The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Las Vegas Raiders in AFC wild-card action Saturday, snapping a 31-year drought without a postseason victory.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft before suffering a season-ending injury 10 games into the season.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft before suffering a season-ending injury 10 games into the season.

The Lions have gone 30 years since their last playoff win, since beating the Dallas Cowboys, 38-6, on Jan. 5, 1992.

The Lions have made eight playoff appearances since that NFC divisional win and have lost nine straight postseason games. They won their last division title in 1993 and made the playoffs as a wild card in 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2011, 2014 and 2016.

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Only the Cleveland Browns have fewer playoff appearances in the past 30 years, making the postseason three times (in 1994, 2002 and 2020) but winning two games (in the 1994 and 2020 postseasons).

Before Saturday, the Bengals’ last playoff win came on Jan. 6, 1991, when they beat the Houston Oilers, 41-14, in an AFC wild-card game.

Sacked Lions QB Erik Kramer watches a fumble recovery by Washington in a 41-10 loss in the NFC championship game on Jan. 12, 1992.
Sacked Lions QB Erik Kramer watches a fumble recovery by Washington in a 41-10 loss in the NFC championship game on Jan. 12, 1992.

The Lions, who went 3-13-1 in Dan Campbell’s first season as head coach, are the last remaining NFL team with a 20-year-plus playoff drought.

The Browns ended their 26-year streak with a playoff win last season, and the Buffalo Bills snapped a 25-year run without a playoff win in the 2020 postseason.

The Miami Dolphins, who last won a playoff game on Dec. 30, 2000 — in overtime against the Indianapolis Colts — have the second-longest active playoff drought.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Bengals win gives Detroit Lions NFL's worst playoff drought